


Take Me In Under the Blue

by coatlicue



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Cheryl is more full of herself than she should be, F/F, Fluff, Literally just Cheryl taking care of a Sick Toni, No Angst, Sickfic, Then Toni takes care of Cheryl, Toni is a Big Baby when she's sick, no real plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 12:01:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14212719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coatlicue/pseuds/coatlicue
Summary: A cold knocks Toni on her ass. It's funny in a way - that a common cold is enough to bring down a girl who has had guns pointed at her in the back of warehouses. And yet, on early Friday morning I get a text of about fifty pouting emojis followed byI have a coldfrom Toni.-Or, Cheryl and Toni take care of each other when they're sick.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i took a break from the constant angst that i write for this pairing to give you all some domestic, tooth-rotting fluff. 
> 
> title is taken from "under the blue/take me in" by lesbian jesus aka hayley kiyoko

A cold knocks Toni on her ass.

It's funny in a way - that a common cold is enough to bring down a girl who has had guns pointed at her in the back of warehouses. Who was the youngest to do the Serpent dance; thirteen and barely pubescent. Who is 5'2 and still strikes fear into grown men with just a look.

And yet, on early Friday morning I get a text of about fifty pouting emojis followed by _I have a cold_ from Toni.

Then she sends a couple of other fever-clouded texts: _I went to the store a few days ago and bought like 20 cucumbers and I don't remember why; I'm sad because there's no ice cream in the freezer and I miss it; Sweet Pea isn't here and I can't reach the remote, please help me._

When I get out of school, I pack a bag and type, _I'll take care of you_. Because as amusing as Toni is, I do worry a bit. I make my way to Sweet Pea's trailer and knock on the door a few times. I hear shuffling before Sweet Pea opens the door, visibly annoyed.

"Oh, hey Cheryl, thank God you're here. Your girlfriend is a real pest when she's sick, you know that?"

Before I can respond, a shoe comes flying past Sweet Pea. "I heard that, you asshole!"

"You were meant to, you bitch!"

I stifle a giggle at their antics before pushing past Sweet Pea, "I'll take her off your hands."

When I see her, she's curled up on Sweet Pea's couch. Her cheeks and nose are bright red, there are dark circles under her eyes and her cheekbones press up against her skin.

"Hi, baby." I move forward to pull her into a hug but she waves a hand around to push me away.

"Fine then."

Toni coughs, "I don't want to get you sick."

"I'm taking you to Thistlehouse with me. Besides, my immune system is basically a SWAT team. Unlike yours, apparently."

Toni sneezes and then groans, "Where's your mom?"

"I threw her out."

Toni chokes a bit, "You - what?"

"That's a story for later, but for now, you're coming home with me. Sweet Pea!"

The boy peeks back into the small living room area while munching on a banana, "M-yeah?"

"First of all, don't talk with your mouth full. Second, can you help me carry Toni to my car?"

Sweet Pea looks offended for a second before seemingly shaking it off with a huff, "Fine."

Toni shakes her head, "I can walk."

"Shut up, Teeny Tiny Toni, and let me carry you to the car before the wind blows you away."

-

Less than a half hour later I'm sitting next to Toni on the couch, her head in my lap.

"Shit." I say, "You're hot."

Toni smiles lazily, "I'm always hot."

"True," I scoot closer to her, thermometer in hand, "Open up."

"102," The thermometer reads, "Not bad, Topaz. Guess you can stick around for a little while then." Toni doesn't respond, just burrows herself into my lap, curling into herself. I stifle a laugh, because a cold is enough to turn Toni into a petulant small child. It's a little pathetic. Or, would be, if it was anyone but her. But since it is her, it's also endearing.

"Let me get you some medicine, have you eaten?"

Toni's nose scrunches, "I threw it back up."

I press my hand to Toni's sweaty forehead, "Oh, TT..."

"You have some juice?"

"I have Perrier," I offer.

Toni laughs, "Of course you do, rich white lady."

-

I can tell Toni is fighting sleep. We're watching _One Day at a Time_ on my MacBook and her head is tucked into my neck. Her breathing has started to slow, and she's leaning on me just a little more heavily. So far the NyQuil seems to be working.

I stroke her hair until I'm sure she's asleep and then start to get up, but she groans.

"I have an essay to write." She slurs into my neck.

"You'll vomit on your papers."

She sits up, "But I -"

"Toni," I wrap an arm around her shoulder, "Worrying unecessarily about school is my thing. Go to sleep, okay? I promise you've got time."

"Mmmkay." I press a kiss to her forehead. She's warm, and I know it shouldn't, but it does make me a little worried.

After a few moments, she jumps up quickly, running to the bathroom. I find her crouched in front of the toilet, heaving up the toast I fed her earlier. I pull her hair from the sides of her face and wait for her to be done. She groans, leaning against the wall.

"I feel like I got beat up by a bunch of Ghoulies."

"That's not funny, Topaz."

Toni smiles up at me, "It's hilarious and you know it."

Then she erupts in a burst of coughs. I fight the urge to move away from her.

"I'm sorry," I say, giving her my hand so she can stand. Her knees are shaky, and there is a sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead. She brushes her teeth with shaky hands that stumble over themselves to move.

When she's done, I try to help her walk to the bedroom, but after she nearly falls over fot the third or fourth time, I find it easier to just pick her up. She's unsurprisingly light, and her bones press into my skin. She murmurs something into my neck.

"What?"

"I feel like a princess," She giggles - honest to God giggles - and I smile.

"You're a queen, Toni. My lil' busker queen."

"A queen that just puked into the toilet bowl. So graceful." I laugh, which causes me to stumble, almost sending both Toni and I crashing down into the carpet.

"Easy there," She says, giggling again. It's a rare sound to pass her lips, but her tough-girl front isn't really fooling anyone. Sometimes she'll infect everyone in a mile radius with a sudden burst of happiness. She's magical.

I set her down on my bed, and she immediately burrows herself in the covers, sighing softly. She pulls at my hand when I let go.

"Stay. Please." She looks so childlike with no makeup on her face and no bold lip to hide behind. I can't bring myself to look away. Here - vulnerable, soft, trusting - I find myself falling harder for her every second I look at her.

A chaste smile plays on her lips, and I can't help but lean over and press mine to hers.

"Cheryl?" She murmurs against my lips, pulling away.

"M - yeah?"

"I just threw up and you keep kissing me."

-

I wake up in a panic. The body next to mine is flailing violently, trying to get out of bed. Toni climbs over me, running to the bathroom. I hear her retching in the hall. Shit. I rub the sleep from my eyes and stumble over my feet trying to get to her. The sheets she was sleeping on are coated with sweat.

When I see her, she's slumped on the floor next to the toilet, crying into her hands.

"Hey, hey," I crouch next to her and rub her back, "What's wrong?"

"Everything h-hurts." Toni croaks.

"I'm sorry, baby." Her pink hair sticks to the sides of her forehead, so I know her fever hasn't broken yet. I grab the thermometer from over the sink and motion for her to open her mouth.

"103. It's getting worse. If it gets any higher we have to go to the hospital."

"No. No. I hate hospitals. I hate them and they might try to poke me with those devil's tools."

"Needles?" I ask, poking her side.

"Don't laugh, Cheryl, they're scary." She pouts, her eyes filling with tears.

"Toni, you're a serpent. That tattoo carved into your right side kind of rebukes the statement you just made."

"I was drunk and thirteen when I got that." Toni pouts, looking once again like a small child throwing a tantrum.

"Fine. Fine, but we need to get your temperature down. Should I get a wet towel or something?"

"Can I take a shower? I think I threw up on myself a little." _Gross_ , I think, but I don't say that. I simply nod and move out.

"Cheryl?" She says, and I turn around, "I can't stand up on my own. I think I'm gonna need your help." Oh. OH. Okay. I catch eye of her collarbones, brown skin teasing me. _Not the time, Blossom_. I move forward and help her peel her clothes off until she's just in her underwear.

"Uh - should I..."

"You can take them off, Cher. It's nothing you haven't seen before."

I shake my head, "I know but this is... it's different."

She raises a thin eyebrow, smirking. Fucking Topaz, "How?"

"It - It just is." I move forward and help her unhook her bra and take off her panties, trying to ignore the faint throbbing between my thighs. _Jesus, Cheryl,_ I think to myself. There's vomit on her feet. Now is _so_ not the time for this. I turn on the shower and turn around, she's standing on shaky feet waiting for something. I gesture to the shower, waiting for her to get in.

Then I notice her holding on to the sink to keep herself up. Oh.

"Um - do you... can you..."

"Cheryl, I can barely stand. Can you go in with me? Please?" I nod sheepishly, stumbling over myself as I take off my clothes. I help her into the shower and climb in next to her.

There is nothing sexy about this moment. There's just Toni, shaking and warm, and there's me, rubbing her shoulders and massaging shampoo into her scalp. This moment is tender. She's beautiful, and she's here. And I'm lucky enough to be standing next to her.

I feel a tickle in the back of my throat.

"Why are you making that face?" Toni asks, but before she can finish, I let out a sneeze. It's loud, reverbrating off the walls. Fucking Topaz. She smirks at me, an unsaid 'I told you so' hanging in the air between us.

"SWAT team my ass."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the SWAT team line was taken from a textpost i saw on tumblr don't @ me


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cheryl gets sick this time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, i am back by popular demand and giving you another plot-less fluff chapter.

It's 8:01 and Cheryl still isn't at school.

Being one minute late to school wouldn't be a big deal if you were anyone _but_ Cheryl Blossom, who is punctual to the point of fault. So when I walk into homeroom and her desk is empty, my brain goes right into overdrive, thinking back to the last time Cheryl was gone from school and I ended up having to break her out of conversion therapy.

Part of me wants to storm Thistlehouse for her, but instead I sit my ass down next to Jughead and wait for the teacher to call out 'Antoinette Topaz', knowing full well that it's a little crazy to be so paranoid.

At 8:05, Cheryl walks into school. Which again, wouldn't be a big deal if she didn't look like a walking corpse.

Holding a coffee cup in one hand and her bag in the other, dressed in leggings and a yellow sweater with her hair pulled into a messy bun, Cheryl could have been mistaken for Betty Cooper had it not been for her trademark red hair.

That alone was enough to make sure that as soon as the bell rang letting us out of homeroom, I ran after Cheryl. I found her leaning her head against her locker, eyes shut tight.

"Baby," I say, "You look..."

Cheryl rolls her eyes, and mumbles "Gee, thanks." with a raspy voice.

"I didn't mean it like that, you know you're always smokin'." I lay a hand on her shoulder, "But baby, you look worn. What's wrong?"

"What? Me? I'm fine, in fact I'm -" And then Cheryl sneezes.

"Oh." And then it dawns on me, "Oh, baby, are you sick?"

"I'm not sick! Just allergies. Cheryl Blossom doesn't get sick."

I narrow my eyes, trying to fight the laughter threatening to escape my throat. Then I press my forehead to hers. "Okay, sure, even if I believed you for a second - which I don't, by the way - you're burning up. Allergies don't give you a fever."

Cheryl stifles a cough into the elbow of her sweater, "I don't have a fever. Maybe I'm just hot. Or maybe - maybe _you're_ just jealous."

"Oh, you know I'm jealous, Bombshell." I cup her face with my hand, "But that doesn't change the fact that you're sick and shouldn't even be at school."

Cheryl sighs, her hands going to her head to rub at her temples, "I just - I have so much to do for class and I can't go home and Kevin is going to crucify me if I miss rehearsal."

Then she sneezes again, so loud that her step falters and she has to lean into the lockers to avoid falling to the ground.

"Okay, yeah, no" I drape an arm over her shoulder and start leading her away.

"My first period class is that way." Cheryl protests.

"I know, Cheryl. It's real cute that you think I'm going to let my girlfriend go to class like this." I say, and Cheryl gives up the fight, leaning against me just a little more heavily.

"Mm - where are we going?"

I smile at her. She's cute. "The Blue and Gold room. There's a couch in there, and I have some blankets stored in the supply closet from when I used to crash there. You, Cheryl Bombshell, are going to take a nap."

"What about your class, Teeny Toni?"

I scoff, "First of all, you're like two inches taller than me. And I'm basically carrying you. Second, I have yearbook. I can miss."

We get to the Blue and Gold room, and I am relieved to find it empty. "Alright, Bombshell, let's get you down."

She lets me set her down on the couch as I go to get the blankets I keep in the supply closet. There's also some tea that Betty keeps around for late nights.

"Okay, Cher, here are some blankets. And we have tea; do you want Green or Earl - "

But Cheryl's curled into herself on the couch, already asleep.

-

It's nearing lunchtime when Cheryl's stomach rumbles. We're curled up on the couch watching some trashy chick-flick on Cheryl's laptop (because she likes it, and of course I crumble when it comes to what she likes).

"Sounds like someone's hungry."

"No. I'm fine." Cheryl answers quickly. A little too quickly to be natural.

"Did you eat breakfast?" I ask, eyes narrowing when Cheryl looks down guiltily. "You threw it up, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

I roll my eyes at her, "Ay, Cheryl. You still have to eat something."

Cheryl groans, "No. What if I throw it up?"

"Then I'll be here, you big baby. You have to take better care of yourself, and this whole 'I'm too tough to be sick' act is probably why you're not feeling any better."

"You're right." Cheryl pouts, "Will you get me some toast?"

"Sure." I sigh, "For the record, I'm only doing this because you're sick. I'm not whipped."

Cheryl smirks, "Oh, for sure."

I get up and head towards the cafeteria before I hear Cheryl calling out after me, "Oh, and Toni?"

I peek back into the room, "Yeah?"

"Can you make sure it's 9-grain please? And get me some orange juice?"

"Sure, princess." I say, already walking out to get her what she wants. I can basically hear Sweet Pea say 'whipped', but I still continue walking forward.

When I get to the cafeteria I decide to get Cheryl some soup as well. Then I see fruit and think that might be helpful also, to give her Vitamin C. By the time I'm done filling up the tray it is threatening to topple over.

"Whoa, there." I hear from behind me, along with a familiar click-clack of heels. "Need some help with that?"

"Hi, Veronica." I say, "No, I'm good. Thanks."

"That's... quite a bit of food. Is that going to fit in your ninety-pound body?"

I roll my eyes, "Veronica, we are literally the same height. And it's not for me."

"Oh?" Veronica says, raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

"It's... for Cheryl." I say, and Veronica's face immediately erupts into a knowing smirk.

"Hmm." Veronica smiles, "Makes sense. Estás enculada a lo peor, little Toni."

"Once again, we are the same size. Also, whatever you said doesn't affect me because I don't speak Spanish."

Veronica turns on her heel, a perfect image of poise and class, and makes a little whip sound as she does so. "You're smart, Antoinette. I think you can figure it out."

-

It's halfway through sixth period when Jughead walks into the Blue and Gold room and does a double take when he sees Cheryl curled up on the couch. I gave up any hope of heading back into class when Cheryl started tossing and turning in her sleep, instead opting to keep her company. (Just in case).

"Uh - hey Toni. What's Cheryl doing here?"

I glare at Jughead when Cheryl stirs, "Shh! Keep it down, will you? She's sleeping."

"Oh." Jughead looks between Cheryl and I for what feels like minutes before his eyes open wide, "Oh."

"Cheryl has a cold or something." I say, "I brought her here so she could sleep it off a bit."

Jughead smirks, "You know, when you said you were more into girls I didn't think you meant girls like _Cheryl Blossom_."

I lean against the table and cross my arms, "Yeah, well, I am."

"Relax, Toni, that wasn't an accusation. I think you'll be good for each other."

Looking over at Cheryl, I can't help but smile softly. "She's sensational, isn't she?"

At that, Cheryl sits up, "Who's sensational?"

I'm up and by Cheryl's side in a second, something which causes Jughead to make a whip sound. I glare at him for a second before turning back to the redhead, "You are. How you feeling, babe?"

"Like I fell into a frozen river."

I glare at her, but there's no real fire behind it. "That's not funny."

"It's a little funny."

"Alright, Blossom, let me check your temperature." I press my forehead to hers, flinching a bit when I realize how warm it is. "Jesus, you're burning up. Are you sure you don't want me to take you home?"

Cheryl immediately shakes her head, "No. No home. I'm okay."

"I won't take you home if you don't want me to but don't 'I'm okay' me." I sit next to her and pull her into my lap, "You're my universe, you know that, and I'll always be here to take care of you no matter what. But you still shouldn't be wearing yourself so thin."

Cheryl tucks herself under my neck and I press a soft kiss to the crown of her head.

"I love you, Toni." She murmurs.

I laugh, "I love you too, you loser."

We hear a scoff, "Did you two just fucking forget I was here?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p.s they did forget he was there. 
> 
> let me know what you think and also let me know if you have any ideas for what choni stuff i should write next.


End file.
